A variety of fastener arrangements are known in the prior art for fastening two or more objects together. For example, there are prior art fastener arrangements that require a tool for both fastening and unfastening. One such arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,925 to Wecke et al., Nov. 8, 1994, which discloses a fastener arrangement for fastening a cover and a base of a terminal box. Locking bolts with slotted heads at one end and blade-like expansions at the other are used to fasten the cover to the base. Each locking bolt is pushed downwards with a suitable tool through aligned bores in the cover and base, and then each locking bolt is turned slightly with the tool so that the blades cannot be withdrawn from the aligned bores. Detachment of the cover from the base is carried out by turning each locking bolt with the suitable tool to bring the blade again in alignment with the bores, allowing the locking bolts to be removed therefrom.
It is also known in the prior art to use manual rotating mechanisms for both fastening and unfastening. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,629 to Shyr, Mar. 11, 2003, discloses a cam system for retaining a press strip against a plurality of interface cards on a computer casing. The system uses a cam button that extends through the computer casing and forms an integral body with a female seat located inside the computer casing, such that the female seat and cam button rotate synchronously. By manually rotating the female seat, the cam button can be moved to hold the press strip in place against the interface cards. The cam button can be released with further manual rotation of the female seat.
One difficulty with manually operated mechanisms is that they may become opened or closed unintentionally. In other words, the ease of manual operation can limit security and accidental opening may result. Also, manually operated mechanisms may not be very strong or provide a secure seal, such as when used in a lid.
There is, accordingly, a need in the prior art for a fastener arrangement having a manually operated mechanism that can be operated by hand for ease of use during closing, but is secure after closing.